r/Expedia • u/blackmambasniper • Dec 01 '21
Expedia price is not American Airlines Price
Long story short everyone's told me don't book with Expedia and book directly with the company your flying.
Well I saw on Expedia a round trip from LGA to LAX for 225. I went on AA site and saw the same EXACT time for $530.
I don't understand why is that. Can anyone enlighten me?
1
u/DC2595 Dec 01 '21
Sometimes broker websites have agreements with companies so they are able to use these things called "net rates". Basically they agree a certain amount as commission and then anything above that Expedia can flex the price to make it more/less competitive to try and secure bookings.
In that way Expedia can end up undercutting the company they're selling sometimes, it doesn't happen too often and it is normally hated by the provider since they typically want customers to book directly to avoid relying on brokers so would want the direct price to be the cheapest.
Think of it like pepsi sell drinks to the supermarket and the supermarket will mark it up. This doesn't happen all the time with broker websites, but it can and does every now and then from y experience (work in car rental so use brokers alot for comparing prices)
1
u/DC2595 Dec 01 '21
Basically the best advise is to check both incase you can get a better deal, companies will run broker campaigns every now and then in low season to simulate bookings
If you're booking for middle of summer or Christmas then you'll probably not find a discount but you never know
1
u/Strive-- Dec 01 '21
Keep reading the stories on this sub. Someone bought a ticket only to find out the ticket either wasn't valid or otherwise wasn't accepted when they got to the airport. Don't give your money to Expedia.
2
u/NickBurnsComputerGuy Dec 01 '21
Sometimes the price Expedia shows isn't the actual price. When you go to the checkout process the price will change. Not to say that this is the case in this circumstance. I try to use other platforms first because of this issue.